Private Hire Taxi Drivers

[Owen_Thomas_14]

I'm thinking of a possible career change and have been offered a job with a taxi firm 🤔. They said they would give me a car with everything paid for but in return i give them 60% of the fares made and i keep 40%. All tips made will be kept for myself 😀. The only thing that worries me is the money to be honest. I know everyone has quiet days and also very busy days but I'm not entirely sure how much I'd make in 4/5 days or nights work 🤔.

Anyone on here able to give me any advice or an insight of what money I'm actually going to make doing this?

Thanks in advance ☺

 

[patricks148]

John Findley who used to post on here switched from being a Solicitor in Edinburgh to a Taxi driver, you could PM him. Though he's not been on for a while

 

[Norrin Radd]

im currently going through the procedure for a hackney and private hire licence, down here you cant get just a private hire licence .
the rates you are quoting are very similar to what i will be getting ,my brother already works for the firm i am looking to join ,he seems to be more than happy with his earnings .
if you are working in the city im betting you will be earning more than i will in the boondocks of rural england .
private hire drivers arent allowed to sit on taxi ranks awaiting a customer to hire them ,they can only take previous booked fares ,they cant be hailed from the kerb even if you are empty .
this is where getting a hackney licence will have the advantage .
fare wise private hire can charge what they like as long as the fare knows what they will be charged and agree to it,hackney licence holders fares are set by the local council and they are not allowed to charge more than the taxi meter shows as they should all be calibrated the same.
you will be allowed to charge time and a half after midnight and before 6am , you should get the half in full and the firm just get 60% of the fare as usual .
tips wise you should earn yourself around £80 a week .obviously friday and saturday nights will be your big earners and you wont see your bed till the clock strikes at least 3am.
check your local council website as they should have what you need to get a licence ,it will include a DBS check and a medicsal ,along with sitting a driving test .i dont know how much a private hire licence is up your way but down here you cant get just a private hire one you get a hackney that also allows private hire .the cost is a bit ott if you ask me at £465 ,which on top of that the medical will be anything from a £100 to £200 the DBS check will be £60 or there abouts and the driving test is £87 down here.
good luck with it if you do it .and it will take around six weeks to get a licence .you wont be allowed to drive private hire or hackney before you are licenced.

 

[SaintHacker]

I'm thinking of a possible career change and have been offered a job with a taxi firm 🤔. They said they would give me a car with everything paid for but in return i give them 60% of the fares made and i keep 40%. All tips made will be kept for myself 😀. The only thing that worries me is the money to be honest. I know everyone has quiet days and also very busy days but I'm not entirely sure how much I'd make in 4/5 days or nights work 🤔.

Anyone on here able to give me any advice or an insight of what money I'm actually going to make doing this?

Thanks in advance ☺

Is this Uber by any chance? Don't do it...

 

[DCB]

Some rather cut throat competition in the private hire business in the N E of the City. Are you talking Edinburgh or E Lothian Owen? John was Black Cab, so, slightly different. Private hire is a tight margin business now with Uber on the patch, they must be able to get more blood out of a stone than the tax man.

 

[MrBrightside]

Is this Uber by any chance? Don't do it...

Why?

My wife works in telematics selling dispatch systems, but still uses uber for her personal use and from what I can see as a uneducated, infrequent user of taxis there service is tge future.

The last time I used an uber, we were at the science museum with my son, there was a bomb threat and the area shut down. By the time we walked to the end of the road she booked a vehicle, obtained his details and got a price of £17 to travel half way across London. As we crossed the road the driver pulled up!

 

[SaintHacker]

Why?

My wife works in telematics selling dispatch systems, but still uses uber for her personal use and from what I can see as a uneducated, infrequent user of taxis there service is tge future.

The last time I used an uber, we were at the science museum with my son, there was a bomb threat and the area shut down. By the time we walked to the end of the road she booked a vehicle, obtained his details and got a price of £17 to travel half way across London. As we crossed the road the driver pulled up!

Where to start? Drivers working 18+hours a day as Uber take so much they can barely keep their heads above water. It all sounds fine and dandy in the begining, but it turns sour very quickly as many are now finding out.
From a customer point of view, when your wife uses one, how does she know the car is insured? Is it properly licenced? Is the driver licenced? DDoes he/she have a criminal record as long as your arm? With Uber there is no way of knowing. And what about 'surge pricing', are you happy paying 3 times more for your journey just because its a busy period?

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

It isnt with uber(i did think about it), it's with a new start up company based in Midlothian. They have struck a deal with Edinburgh council meaning they can either drop off and pick up in Edinburgh as long as the customer starts or ends in Midlothian. There is talks of branching to East Lothian aswell...

The guy has giving me a choice of cars (4 to 8 seaters) to drive so I'm 100% comfortable and they will be running a £175,000 state of the art GPS/Booking system. Also all the cars will have a Panic button in case of emergencies, just in case something does happen.

My partner says go for it and my heart says go for it as i currently hate my job but not sure if i can match or better my current wage 🤔. I've been giving the option to have a few nights/days work to see if i enjoy doing it and i can take it from there. Just wanted to see if anyone has any good advice or horror stories to sway my decision one way or another 🙄

 

[williamalex1]

It isnt with uber(i did think about it), it's with a new start up company based in Midlothian. They have struck a deal with Edinburgh council meaning they can either drop off and pick up in Edinburgh as long as the customer starts or ends in Midlothian. There is talks of branching to East Lothian aswell...

The guy has giving me a choice of cars (4 to 8 seaters) to drive so I'm 100% comfortable and they will be running a £175,000 state of the art GPS/Booking system. Also all the cars will have a Panic button in case of emergencies, just in case something does happen.

My partner says go for it and my heart says go for it as i currently hate my job but not sure if i can match or better my current wage 🤔. I've been giving the option to have a few nights/days work to see if i enjoy doing it and i can take it from there. Just wanted to see if anyone has any good advice or horror stories to sway my decision one way or another 🙄

Taste and try before you buy, tough business dealing with the public , especially drunks .

Good luck

 

[Norrin Radd]

It isnt with uber(i did think about it), it's with a new start up company based in Midlothian. They have struck a deal with Edinburgh council meaning they can either drop off and pick up in Edinburgh as long as the customer starts or ends in Midlothian. There is talks of branching to East Lothian aswell...

The guy has giving me a choice of cars (4 to 8 seaters) to drive so I'm 100% comfortable and they will be running a £175,000 state of the art GPS/Booking system. Also all the cars will have a Panic button in case of emergencies, just in case something does happen.

My partner says go for it and my heart says go for it as i currently hate my job but not sure if i can match or better my current wage 樂. I've been giving the option to have a few nights/days work to see if i enjoy doing it and i can take it from there. Just wanted to see if anyone has any good advice or horror stories to sway my decision one way or another 

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check about licencing before you start driving ,even for a weeks trial .in England you cant drive a cab without a proper licence.

 

[fundy]

Where we are in milton keynes you used to have to be registered with milton keynes council, they did away with that and now cabs from wycombe, aylesbury, beford etc all able to work here and the market is way past saturated, any of the cabs I know are beyond frustrated and struggling to make it pay (those that are are those with established firms with plenty of airport runs)

oh and uber is just starting to appear too

 

[irip]

I run a cab firm(Private Hire) in Surrey and have been involved in the game for 20+ years. It is one of those jobs you will love instantly and do it for years or decide quickly its not for you.

You have to accept that people will do runners, they will argue about the price, your car will break down, people will order a car and when you get there you wont be able to find them, and of course if you work nights you will deal with people who have had a drink, you have to accept this as part of the job, if you are going to dwell on these things and they upset you then no the job is not for you, but take it as these things happen and move on and you will enjoy the job.

Agree specific hours with the company and what happens if you work past these hours if your going to be an employed driver, also you may want to discuss holiday pay and sick pay as most wont pay these.

Any questions you have feel free to pm me.

 

[SaintHacker]

It isnt with uber(i did think about it), it's with a new start up company based in Midlothian. They have struck a deal with Edinburgh council meaning they can either drop off and pick up in Edinburgh as long as the customer starts or ends in Midlothian. There is talks of branching to East Lothian aswell...

The guy has giving me a choice of cars (4 to 8 seaters) to drive so I'm 100% comfortable and they will be running a £175,000 state of the art GPS/Booking system. Also all the cars will have a Panic button in case of emergencies, just in case something does happen.

My partner says go for it and my heart says go for it as i currently hate my job but not sure if i can match or better my current wage 🤔. I've been giving the option to have a few nights/days work to see if i enjoy doing it and i can take it from there. Just wanted to see if anyone has any good advice or horror stories to sway my decision one way or another 🙄

You don't mention fuel. Does the deal include fuel or do you have to pay for it yourself? If its the latter then I can see you going broke very quickly indeed. I can quite happily burn £150 worth on a fairly average week. At 60/40 even if the company fuels the car you're still going to have to take £700 per week to make a living.
I'm not familiar with the geography of your area, but from your description I guess you live out in the sticks a bit? Again I would be a bit wary, if you're relying on trade in and out of the city is there enough to keep you going, would you be better off looking at driving for a firm based in the city so you can pick up some town work? What sort of work does the comapny have? IS it all cash/address work? This can dry up very quickly in lean times, particularly after christmas. Do they have any corporate accounts? A lot of drivers don't like doing account work for tax reasons but in my experience account work generally keeps going year round unlike the fickle cash work. What about school runs? They can be quite lucrative but again you can't rely on them due to holidays so other work to fall back on is a must.

Not trying to put you off, just a few more things to consider. I've been doing it for the best part of 15 years. Its swings and roundabouts. Bad things are such as no sick/holiday pay, fuel prices, insurance costs, breakdowns, long hours sometimes, idiot passengers. Good things are flexible hours, start when you want finish when you want, don't work if you don't want to, being out and about, not being stuck in an office all day, seeing different parts of the country you wouldn't otherwise visit, really lovely passengers.
You'll never be rich, but if you get your head down and work hard you'll earn a living, and without anyone breathing down your neck (except the wife). Like I said I've been driving for 15 years and I couldn't go back to a normal job now, I did actually start one two years ago, lasted 18 months before I jacked it to be my own boss again.

I'm not trying to p

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

I would be going self employed but using the guys car hence the 40/60 split. Fuel is done on his account so it's another thing i don't need to worry about ☺. Being only 24, I've never been self employed. I've worked for the same building company for 7 years now but it's beyond a joke now as my boss basically blocked me from moving up the ladder and making £100-£200 extra a week and there's literally nothing i can do about it 😡. I enjoy driving, i don't mind traffic or people to be honest so thought I'd give it a shot. The private licence is only £63 so i could even try it for one night and if i don't like it then it's not a big loss, possibly a small profit? 😂

 

[backwoodsman]

All I'd say is think carefully about it - especially about the numbers. Two guys l play with both tried and both gave up because of the hours they needed to put in to make it worth it. That's not to say it wont work for you.

I'm not in the business so don't know what "normal" is but a simple example in round numbers ...

On a 60/40 split you need to take £1000 per week to get £400 for yourself. That's 100 £10 fares per week or 20 per day for a five day week. I live in London and only pay about £11 for a 3 mile 20 min journey home from the golf club at midnight. 20 twenty minute fares is already 6 1/2 hours without any gaps between pick up and drop off. There is a lot of waiting around between fares. How long per day will you need to be on duty to get 20 fares? You'll lose about £40 of that £400 by paying tax, leaving about £360. And like others have said, there's no holiday or sick pay in there.

Do those figures work? Multiply or divide the numbers to see how they work in respect of what you want/need/expect per week.

Ok, my numbers are only "made up" - but they are the sort of calculations you need to do to help you make up your mind

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

Before reductions I'd be wanting to make £1250 so i can get away with £500 before tax etc. Not sure if I'm being greedy with that but i don't see the point in changing jobs unless I'm making similar or more money 🤔. Having a young family i cant really afford to take a pay cut especially with my rent and council tax going up next month 😠

 

[Norrin Radd]

Before reductions I'd be wanting to make £1250 so i can get away with £500 before tax etc. Not sure if I'm being greedy with that but i don't see the point in changing jobs unless I'm making similar or more money 樂. Having a young family i cant really afford to take a pay cut especially with my rent and council tax going up next month 

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not going to happen at those figures .even working 7 days a week.

 

[DCB]

Midlothian is a small pond and there are quite a number of Private Hire companies on the go out here. Think very carefully before you make a decision, my own thoughts are that there isn't enough business in Midlothian for any more competition.

 

[HowlingGale]

One of the women in work is married to a private hire driver in Glasgow. Not the 60/40 thing you mention but own car , own expenses, traditional private. She's saying the place is saturated with drivers and not enough work. The black hacks are still making money but private hires are really struggling. It wouldn't be something I'd consider as an easier/better option.

 

[SaintHacker]

Before reductions I'd be wanting to make £1250 so i can get away with £500 before tax etc. Not sure if I'm being greedy with that but i don't see the point in changing jobs unless I'm making similar or more money 🤔. Having a young family i cant really afford to take a pay cut especially with my rent and council tax going up next month 😠

My advice then would be stay where you are, you'll be lucky to make half that especially as you're just starting out so don't really know the ropes so to speak